Return to Algiers

1h 54min

Drama

Famous TV news anchorman Pierre Nivel left Algiers for France in 1962. That's been a secret; his Paris co-workers have never known that he was formerly an Algerian pied noir. An Algerian delivers an urgent message to Pierre from a Leïla Jalal... Algiers, 1962. The Nivels live in the same apartment building as the Moslem Jalal family. Lycée student Pierre is in love with their daughter, Leïla. The civil unrest in Algeria is heating up and violence is spreading in Algiers. At school, Pierre is friends with a Moslem student, Issam, but he is made fun of for that... Pierre's jet arrives in Algiers. As a celebrity, Pierre is met on arrival by a government official, Nader Mansour. Because of the civil war raging between the government and Islamic terrorists, they drive into the city in a heavily armed convoy. Pierre does not tell Mansour his real reason for returning: Leïla has asked him to help her daughter Amina escape to safety in France.

Production Companies

Alexandra Film

Canal+

Cast

Antoine de Caunes

Antoine de Caunes

Pierre Nivel
Mathilda May

Mathilda May

Nelly Azera
Nozha Khouadra

Nozha Khouadra

Leila/Amina
Pierre Vaneck

Pierre Vaneck

Blanville
Elsa Zylberstein

Elsa Zylberstein

Pierre Nivel's wife
Dora Doll

Dora Doll

Paula Azera
Abderrahmane El Kebir

Abderrahmane El Kebir

Fadel's brother
Jean-Claude de Goros

Jean-Claude de Goros

Henri Nivel, Pierre Nivel's father
Françoise Armelle-Chiche

Françoise Armelle-Chiche

Henri Nivel, Pierre Nivel's mother
François-Xavier Noah

François-Xavier Noah

Pierre Nivel, young
Raphaël Lenglet

Raphaël Lenglet

Issam, young
Saïd Amadis

Saïd Amadis

Nader Mansour

Release date

12th Apr 2000

Status

Released

Spoken languages

العربية, Français, עִבְרִית